This print, and all others on this page, were created by Sara Frankle.
One Solitary Life was read at Sara’s funeral service.
The words, at first undid me, then built me back up.
This is part three of Sara’s funeral service, part one is here, two is here.
As the words were read, I realized that in the eyes of the world my life has been an abject failure. I have no money, no fame, no power, no bride, no children. I’m reminded that what’s important to the world means little in the eyes of eternity.
Worldly success is to be like Donald Trump.
Eternal success is to be like Jesus of Nazareth, who was a…
child of a peasant…
worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years…an itinerant preacher…never owned a home…wrote a book….held an office…had a family…
never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born…
no credentials but Himself…
popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away…He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves…He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Today He is a centerpiece of the human race…
all the armies that ever marched…navies ever built…kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
Quel est important au monde n’est pas important à Dieu
(What is important to the world is not important to God.)
Why can’t I remember this!?
What defined Sara most? Money? Power? Fame?
No.
It was faith, and love, and choosing joy while she was stripped of everything else.
Ciò che è importante al mondo non è importante a Dio.
(What is important to the world is not important to God.)
The priest spoke of remembering Sara…
and the spot in the church where she stood in her white Confirmation dress.
The old, he was comfortable with. The new? He stumbled a little on the new. ツ
Speaking of how he found the text for One Solitary Life he explained, “I googled it like a young person would.”
He stated that Sarah’s blog, the day before, had over a million hits in one day. He got that a little wrong – that’s the total number. But then, he’s not the only one comfortable with his old ways and uncomfortable with the new.
He made note of how the world of the internet was Sara’s world, as it was for “…all those touched by her by twitter, Facebook, and blog…”
As he spoke I remembered the first post of Sara’s I’d ever read – and these two pictures of Sara’s wall mural in her Condo
sourceAnd I cried…
but not tears of sadness…
but tears with a smile…
tears of joy.
Funerals aren’t for those who have left this earth, but those left behind.
Sara said, in planning her funeral service, “I do not want people to think it’s about me…it’s about Jesus Christ.”
And a baby in the pews kept saying “uh oh”…
and timed one of them perfectly, as if on cue, for the end of the sermon.
♥✞ღ
Here are all of the posts on life, the end of life, and Sara.
You might heart reading them as much as I.
In which it’s the small things Love remembers when eternity touches time In which sorrow submerges joy Love prays peace, courage, faith, and knowing In which are “eternity touching time” thank you’s to God Love is eternity touching time In which there is hard love Love believes beyond the dark doorway In which everyone should have at least one Love is the faith of a child In which there is keeping watch Love is sometimes paradox In which is rain, and tears in season Love is greater than the universe, as are we In which is steady, intent, trudging toward the Light Love reaches for the higher branches In which is tapestry Love is believing, living, blinking out, then still living In which the fire should NOT die out
In which death is NOT Goodbye | Sara's Funeral
Love uncovers joy amid the rubble of grief
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for sharing the Sara posts with us, Craig. I don’t think I could ever hear Sara’s message to us enough. God bless you and keep you, may He be the lifter and healer of your head.
These days, since those seven days with no sleep, have all been jumbled up into one for me. I’m sorry I’m only now replying to your comment from a month ago. But since I have begun blogging I’ve never considered a post complete until I got to talk about it. So even though this is a very late response, I appreciate you so much that I need to respond. Thank you for still reading me while I’ve been going through this lost time. I thought I’d be out of the rabbit hole, but the rabbit hole was larger than I thought it would be. it’s always about a year after someone’s death that everyone except for the closest to the person who died seems to forget. I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget. These posts mean the world to me – and her message couldn’t come at a better time. God bless and keep you too my friend – God bless you!
Showing the photos of Sara’s alcove says volumes about her . . . what an incredible person she was and an inspiration she still is.
Thank you for sharing with us, Craig.
Blessings!
Martha, I know this as well after your comment – so you might have to remember the post it came from – it was the post with a picture of Sara’s alcove – if I were artistic I’d make one for myself – to sit down and be surrounded by inspiration – I kind of need that more now than ever. Blessings to you Martha, and as always thank you!
Craig, these posts contained so many gems the first time you shared them with us; and they are doing so all over again. I am grateful that you are sharing them with us again.